A 62-year-old Kenner man whose 1975 murder conviction was commuted by former Gov. Edwin Edwards was indicted Thursday in the death of his neighbor, who in his dying words allegedly identified his killer in phone calls to his brother and to a 911 operator.

Roy A. Garland

Roy A. Garland was charged by a Jefferson Parish grand jury with second-degree murder in the April 11 death of his neighbor, Willie Hall, 42, who died while lying in a wooded area at the end of Curtis Avenue just south of Louis Armstrong International Airport, according to the Kenner Police Department.

When Hall called 911 about 3:30 p.m., he claimed "Roy" shot him, described what Garland was wearing and said he took the pistol away from Garland, according to an affidavit by Kenner police Detective Jesse Johnson. One of Hall's brothers, Charles Hall, has told The Times-Picayune that Hall called him, too, saying Roy shot him.

Hall was shot at least once in the chest, and officers found a .38-caliber revolver near his body, Johnson wrote. Hall was still holding the cell phone used to call 911 when police officers found his body, authorities said.

Another detective spotted Garland walking on Airline Drive trying to flag down vehicles, Johnson wrote. Garland was wearing clothing similar to what Hall described, had blood on his shirt, was not wearing shoes and had muddy feet. Garland claimed he lost one of his shoes while walking in mud; officers found a sandal embedded in a muddy ditch about 30 yards from Hall's body, according to the affidavit.

Witnesses told police, and a nearby surveillance camera confirmed that Garland and Hall were together shortly before the killing, Johnson wrote.

Garland also was indicted on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty in December 2001 to possession of methamphetamine and alprazolam and was sentenced to three years of probation, records show. Because of that felony conviction, he was barred from having or being near firearms.

He is in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna in lieu of a $1 million bond for the murder. Judge Henry Sullivan of the 24th Judicial District Court increased the bond by $250,000 for the firearm charge.

Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence in prison upon conviction.

Garland, said to have a glass eye because of a shotgun blast to his face in 1991, was convicted in 1975 of killing Thomas Burns, 38, outside his Kenner home, and was sentenced to life in prison. However, Edwards commuted the sentence, leading to Garland's release from prison in 1988.

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Paul Purpura can be reached at ppurpura@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3791.